


On Balance

by mindabbles



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Blow Jobs, Community: hp_nextgen_fest, Harry Potter Next Generation, Healer Teddy Lupin, Intercrural Sex, M/M, Major Character Injury, Minor Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Permanent Injury, Quidditch, Semi-Public Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-10
Updated: 2017-11-10
Packaged: 2019-01-26 18:19:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12563376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mindabbles/pseuds/mindabbles
Summary: Teddy’s always been able to fix whatever was wrong with James – until now. He can’t fix it, but maybe together, they can learn to balance.





	On Balance

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much to the mods for running this wonderful fest and for being fantastic. Thanks as well to my beta for the speedy and on-point help. Torino10154, I hope you enjoy this!

Teddy slides down the long bench, making room for various Potters and Weasleys. He’s squeezed in against Ginny, her shoulder pressed against his arm. He feels the slightest flutter of discomfort at the thoughts he’s currently having about her eldest son. 

James circles high above the pitch. His robes, buffeted by the wind, fly out behind him. He swoops down suddenly, and his fellow Seeker turns on a Knut, following him. James pulls out of the dive and starts to circle again. Whether he actually saw the Snitch or he’s feinting, Teddy doesn’t know. It doesn’t matter. James turns flying into an art form. He makes it look utterly effortless. He makes it look joyful. He draws the eye and it’s hard to look at anyone else, hard to follow the match – or maybe, Teddy admits to himself, that’s only him. 

After the match, he’ll meet up with James. The whole family will be there for a bit, but then James will beg off that he’s tired. Teddy, with an urgency that surprises him, hopes that James will ask him round for a drink. This time they’ll do more than kiss and Teddy will take his time, savouring the warm, firm slide of James’ lips on his, the soft sigh James let’s slip when Teddy’s tongue teases into his mouth – a sound Teddy’s heard only once and the memory is making him feel itchy and restless. He’ll take his time until James is shaking and begging him to take it faster, take him harder.

A swell of cheers brings Teddy back to the pitch and the game. James has gone into a frenzied dive. His flying is most exciting when he’s speeding at breakneck speed, on the verge of being out of control. Teddy’s heart is pounding from his day dream and the sight of James so wild and daring. The other Seeker is coming at him. They’ve both seen the Snitch and it will be a close race. A Bludger comes barrelling at them and it barely nicks the twigs of the other Seeker’s broom, but at that speed, it’s enough to send her spiralling off balance and right at James. James is so focused on the Snitch that he doesn’t see her careening at him. They collide with a sickening _crack_ and both drop like stones to the ground.

**********

The afternoon light that streams in the window falls across James' face. It catches the auburn in his dark hair and throws the purple smudges of exhaustion under his eyes into stark relief. He’s injured, possibly more seriously than they know and even so, Teddy can't help but think how beautiful James looks.

"Has he woken at all?" 

Teddy starts at Harry's voice. "No. I'd have let you know." Teddy's heart contracts with sympathy at his godfather's anxiousness. "You had to eat. You were swaying on your feet and you're no good to him if you're in hospital yourself." 

Harry’s smile doesn’t reach his eyes. “Healer's orders, then. Where's Ginny?" 

"Hermione took her home. We'll Floo them when he wakes." 

"Teddy, tell me what's really happening," Harry says. 

For a split second, Teddy thinks Harry knows about James and him, and the tentative beginning of whatever it is they started. His good sense catches up with him quickly and he says gently, “Not his Healer. You know I’m not – I’m too close.” 

“Teddy, I’m not asking you to be his Healer. No one is giving us real answers. _Not until he wakes up. Not until we do more tests_ ,” says Harry, mocking the empty words Teddy knows he’s heard ad nauseam by now. He looks broken and tired and he says in a weary voice, “Please, Teddy. I’m only asking for your opinion. I won’t hold you to it.” 

"I’ve peeked at his scans. We know he'll wake up soon. He shouldn't have any damage to motor skills, basic brain function, or magical abilities, at least not lasting. I'd be shocked with that sort of collision if he didn't have some short-term memory loss. It won't last, but how much and for how long – " Teddy shrugged. 

"And?" Harry asks, brows raised. Teddy should've known he couldn't hide anything from Harry. 

"And, when he hit the ground, he hit a spot on the base of his skull, left side, in a way that damaged his left inner ear," Teddy says. Harry nods for Teddy to go on. 

"We won't really know until he wakes up," Teddy says lamely and Harry makes an impatient noise. Teddy holds up his hands in a gesture of surrender. “Best guess, he'll have lost the hearing in his left ear and he'll have some longer-term issues with vertigo, possibility severe."

"Vertigo?" Harry says slowly. "If you have vertigo, you probably can't – "

"Do much flying," finishes Teddy.

Teddy and Harry turn at the same time to look at James, lying in the hospital bed. Teddy inhales sharply when he sees James’ wide, hazel eyes blinking blearily up at them. 

They both start toward him and Teddy stops himself. Harry should be there first. 

“Jamie,” Harry says, his voice breaking, and echoing exactly how Teddy’s feeling. “Hello, son.” 

James lifts a hand to his head and presses it against his forehead. He croaks, “What happened?”

“Nasty crash with the other Seeker,” says Harry. “You’ve been…asleep, for three days.” 

James blinks at that, licking his dry lips and croaks, “Feel like hell.” 

“I’ll go and get his Healer,” says Teddy. Feeling both anxious and like an intruder. “I'll owl Ginny.’

Before the door swings closed he hears James ask, "Did I catch the Snitch?" Teddy wants to laugh and cry in the same moment.

Healer Trask stops dictating a report the moment she sees Teddy round the corner. She must be working on James's file. She's one of the best. Teddy respects her and likes her; he'd like her even more if she shared a bit more information on James's case with him. “He’s awake,” says Teddy and hurries back to James' room.

It's oddly silent in the hospital room. James’ eyes are squeezed shut and Harry’s hand is on his shoulder. Teddy sees it as soon as he’s within reach of James’ bed – James begins to turn green around the edges and his head sways. Teddy conjures a basin and dashes over in time as James is rather violently sick. 

“Okay,” says Teddy, stroking James’ fringe back from his clammy forehead. James falls back onto his pillow and groans. “Breathe slowly,” he says. 

Harry shoots Teddy a worried look.

“Vertigo,” says Teddy. “It can make you motion sick. James, open your eyes.” 

James opens his eyes and looks at Teddy. “Fuck,” he says closing them again. “That’s awful.” 

“Turn your head to your right and give me your hand,” says Teddy, desperate to take that look off of James’ face. He finds the spot on the inside of James’ wrist and presses two fingers against the soft skin. He whispers the charm and feels some of the tension fade from James’ body. “That’ll help with the nausea for a bit. You might want to avoid turning your head to the left for a little while. You can open your eyes.” 

“Thanks,” says James. He doesn’t pull his hand from Teddy’s grip. “Reckon I can manage making only right turns from now on,” he says, smiling weakly. Teddy’s stomach hurts. 

Harry’s clenching and unclenching his fists, a determined, if worried, look on his face. “Can you show me that?” Harry asks Teddy. “How to do that for him? And where the hell’s Trask?” 

Right on cue, Trask appears at the door. 

“Uh-oh, she looks serious,” says James, with a smile that’s more bravado that Teddy’s sure he feels. 

Trask walks around James’ bed followed by an eager young man who’s balancing several delicate and complicated looking instruments. Teddy tries to fade into the background and Harry looks on, his hand steady on James's lower leg. 

Trask frowns and, Harry says, strong and clear, "Tell us what you’ve found." 

For the millionth time in his life Teddy respects Harry deeply. Teddy is familiar with this scene – the family wanting answers and the Healer trying to give them without making promises that can’t be kept. Harry, unlike so many worried family of the patients Teddy has seen, makes it clear that he expects the answers and he will face what comes. 

"I need to run more tests," Trask says. Her voice is less sure and it’s clear that Harry has disarmed her.

She spends a lot of time at James’ left ear, sending soft sounds of different pitches and using the long, thin instrument to bring her information from the depths of his inner ear. 

James groans and says, “I gather I’m supposed to be hearing something.” 

“It’s too early to tell,” Trask says, earning her a look from Harry and Teddy. She’s scribbles notes furiously, avoiding Harry’s gaze. “The nausea, the vomiting, the vertigo, it will take time, but it will pass." She shoots a look at Harry, and says very quickly, "The hearing loss is permanent but I need to run more tests. Take this potion. You need rest. It'll keep you from being sick." And she's out of the room before Harry can get her to admit anything else. 

“But there are charms and hearing aids like Muggles use, so he’ll be able to hear,” Harry says, breaking the silence left in Trask's wake.

"Er," Teddy says shifting his weight awkwardly from one foot to the next. 

“ _Er_?" James says, "You're going to look at that chart and tell us what it says, right?” 

Teddy bites his lip, giving himself time to contemplate the St. Mungo’s code of ethics. There’s nothing that says explicitly that he can’t review the chart of a patient and share information. 

“ _Teddy_ ,” says Harry. 

Teddy sighs and picks up the file. The notes are neat and voluminous, given how long she’d been writing. He scans them and picks up that there was no response at all in the left ear. 

“She wants to do more tests,” Teddy says, and he notices James turning his head so his right ear is closer. It seems as if it takes a split second longer than usual for James to process the information. He and Harry give Teddy identical, frustrated looks. Teddy knows he’s helpless against the combined will of these two, so he decides to tear the bandage off in one. “The vertigo, all that stuff she mentioned, will go away. Charms, hearing aids, those things only work if there are still working receptors in the ear. In James’ case, it looks as if the hair cells – the little wiggly cells that sense the vibrations the brain turns into sound – are, for lack of a better word, dead."

James groans and swears and Teddy leaps to his bedside. He’s dropped his head back on the pillow as Teddy was talking and Teddy can see the jerky eye movements beneath his closed lids that mean, while he’s sitting still on the bed, his brain is telling him that the bed spinning out of control. Teddy says his name softly and takes his head in his hands, turning it to the right and angling it to reset his inner ear. “Take this,” he says, tipping the anti-nausea potion into his mouth. James struggles to swallow and murmurs, “Thank you.” The effect is almost immediate and James’ eyes flutter shut as his breathing evens out. 

Teddy can feel Harry behind him, about to launch into another series of questions. He’s stopped, however by Ginny bursting into the room. She runs to James and then turns to Teddy and says, “How is he? Teddy?”

Teddy takes a deep breath and wonders if it will be any easier this time around.

**********

James is asleep again. Teddy tells himself that this is a good thing. James needs rest, but the moments when his bed is not surrounded by either bossy Healers or fussing family are so few and far between that they haven’t had a moment to talk. Teddy tells himself that he’s being a child. The problem is, he can’t seem to stop himself.

The night before James’ accident, after dancing around it for ages, James had followed him into the back garden at his parents’ house and kissed him. Teddy had been hard in a second, with James’ lithe, strong body pressed against him. They’d broken apart when a sound had come from inside, reminding them that they were far from alone. They made hurried promises to see each other after the match. Teddy had almost insisted on Apparating with James directly to his flat, but the family was around, and he’d thought he had all the time in the world. Looking at James, still against the crisp, bright yellow sheets, he regrets choosing that particular moment to be sensible.

Teddy takes James’ hand in his, gently and slowly so as not to wake him. James’ skin is warm and soft.

Teddy has always been able to help James. When he was upset about a new baby brother, Teddy made him laugh. When he was afraid he wouldn’t live up to the family reputation at school, Teddy taught him some magic that few first years would know. When he was ready to tell the family he was gay, Teddy helped him find the words. There hasn’t been a single thing Teddy hasn’t been able to fix. "Not this time. Sorry, mate," he says softly.

James sighs and starts to turn over in his sleep. Teddy steadies him, stopping him from flopping onto his left side, a position that’s sure to throw him into a vertigo spell. The touch wakes James and he opens his eyes. 

“Hey,” James says, smiling. Teddy’s heart warms at that smile. “Where’s the entourage?” 

“They're on a break,” Teddy says. “Need someone?” 

James gives Teddy a perplexed look. “You’ll do,” he says. 

“How are you feeling?” Teddy asks.

“Odd,” says James. He starts to sit up and Teddy leans forward to help him. “I can hear everything fine, but I can’t tell what direction it’s coming from.” 

“You’ll get accustomed to that. They’ll have you work with a Healer to learn to compensate,” Teddy says. “How’s the dizziness?”

“It’s not really dizziness, like when you’re pissed or have a fever or some such. It’s more like the ground is actually moving. It’s more physical than in your head. Does that sound mental?” 

Teddy shakes his head. “Not at all,” he says. “It _is_ physical. Your inner ear is responsible for balance. The sensory hair cells that were damaged, in the utricle and the saccule, near the semicircular canals, give information to – ”

“As it turns out,” says James, covering his right ear with his hand. “I can’t hear very well.” 

Teddy laughs. “Right, sorry.” 

“I have one more question for you, and then I don’t want to talk about my health,” says James. “I have other Healers for that.” 

Teddy struggles not to feel stung and he says, “Anything.” 

“This – healing from this – isn’t going to be easy, is it? I mean, I’m going to have to learn to balance, to hear with one ear, to tell where sounds are coming from, and sorting through everything that’s been said, I won’t be able to fly like I used to, if at all.” 

Teddy wants to lie down next to James, to wrap his arms around him. He wants to kiss him and feel the weight of his body against his. He wants James more now than he ever has, as impossible as that seems. He looks into James’ intensely bright eyes, and he can't seem to make the words come out of his mouth, so he settles for shaking his head.

“You'll help me?” James asks. 

This Teddy can do. “Of course,”he says. 

“Teddy, the other night – ” James begins and he’s cut off by Ginny’s exclamation of, “Jamie!” as she enters the room labouring under the weight of a huge bottle of pumpkin juice, a basket of fruit, and what smells like take away from James’ favourite curry shop.

**********

Healer Trask steps out of the room, making notes on James’ chart. She looks up and sees Teddy and a wary expression crosses her face. Teddy thinks he should perhaps stop interrogating her about James’ treatment.

“Before you ask,” she says, as she put the chart in the box affixed to the door. “I've told him about his prognosis, and that the chances of him flying again and at that level are impossible." She’s not saying anything that Teddy didn’t know and, all the same, hearing it aloud makes Teddy feel like he might be sick. “He’s alone right now, but I think he’d see you.”

“Right,” Teddy says and he goes into the room. 

James is lying on his right side, back to the door. He’s so still he could be sleeping, but his breathing is tight and shallow. 

“Hey,” says Teddy, quietly on the off chance that James has actually fallen asleep in the moments since Trask left his room. 

“Forgive me if I don’t turn around,” says James. “Trying not to spew.” His voice is rough and his tone is flat. 

Teddy walks around to the side of James’ bed, so James can see Teddy without turning to his left and disrupting his delicate balance. 

“The vertigo will fade,” says Teddy. “There are some exercises I could show you.” He wants to hex himself. James has had it confirmed that his career is over and Teddy’s offering exercises. 

“Stop trying to be my Healer,” James says. He’s holding his head so carefully on the pillow. Even so, he manages to glare at Teddy with a force that’s almost physical. 

“Merlin, James,” Teddy says, feeling like his stomach is dropping out of his body. “I’m sorry.” He sits by the bed so that James can see his face and hear him more clearly. He wants to touch him, and he hates himself for even thinking that when James has so much on his mind. “It’s killing me I can't fix this.” 

“You honestly think that’s what I want from you?” James snaps. 

Teddy has no words, no ready response. “I – what?” He stammers. “What do you want?” 

“I thought we wanted the same thing,” James says. “Why the hell did you kiss me the other night? Why did you start something if you didn’t mean it?” 

“James,” Teddy says. He wants to kiss away that pained look on James’ face. “How can you think – of course I meant it.” 

“It’s been nearly a week and you’re here all the bloody time and you’ve not mentioned it, not once,” James says. “I was beginning to think maybe it never happened.” 

Teddy reaches out and strokes James’ hair off his face. “It happened,” he says, and he leans down to kiss James. James is still and Teddy can feel him holding his breath, so he pulls back a bit and brushes his lips lightly across James’. He does it again, barely kissing him, until he feels James exhale and yield ever so slightly to the pressure of Teddy’s mouth against his.

Teddy presses in, careful not to jostle James’ head and disrupt his delicate balance, and he hums with pleasure when he feels the tip of James’ tongue tease against his lips. The world narrows to James’ lips and the warm, slick slide of his tongue. James’ hand comes around Teddy’s neck, holding him as if he’s afraid he’ll disappear. Teddy smooths his fingers over James’ jaw and his throat. 

James breaks away suddenly, gasping and holding his head. “Fuck,” he spits out. Teddy grabs his wrist and presses his fingers against the pressure point, speaking the charm. 

“Take it easy,” he says softly. “We don’t have to – ”

Teddy watches as James comes back to himself. He opens his eyes and his face is white, but he doesn’t seem about to be sick. “Stop treating me as if I’m going to drop dead at any moment.”

“I don’t think that’s how I was treating you a moment ago,” Teddy says. He keeps hold of James’ wrist and leans back in, so close that he can see James’ individual dark eyelashes. 

“Then touch me,” says James. “And lock the fucking door.” 

Teddy spares a moment’s thought to the possible professional consequences of having sex with a patient in hospital. His brain helpfully supplies that Teddy himself has been insisting since day one that he is not, in fact, James’ Healer for this very reason, well maybe not _this_ reason precisely. And, that James has informed him that he doesn’t want Teddy to be his Healer even if he could. Besides, he’s learned over the years that his skill at locking charms is well above average. 

“It was never that I didn’t want you,” says Teddy, running his hand along James’ arm, down his side, and over his hip. James rolls his hips, leaning into Teddy’s touch. “Merlin, I want you.” 

James pulls Teddy to him again, and leans up to kiss him. Teddy licks his way into James’ mouth and slides his hand around and over the sheet, feeling James’ erection through the layers of cloth. James gasps and grips Teddy’s bicep. 

“Fuck,” James groans. “All I’ve been thinking about, that night, every piece of shitty news, and then you’d come in and start talking about hair cells. Please, I don’t want to think about it.” 

“I’ve got you,” says Teddy. He leans over the bed and presses his mouth to James’ throat. The skin is soft and pliable and warm and Teddy can feel James’ pulse under his lips. He pushes aside the sheet and lets himself look at James' chest, fair skin and solid, wiry muscle. He moves his mouth over the skin and hears himself sigh when he closes his mouth over James’ nipple and James let out a soft whimper. 

Teddy is hard as stone beneath his Healer’s robes and he wishes he had James at home, so he could take him apart and put him back together, bit by bit. “I don’t know how much time we have,” he murmurs against James’ skin. “Can I suck you, Jamie?” 

“Oh, bloody hell, yes,” says James, throwing aside the blankets and sheets. He starts to sit up, but Teddy stops him with a hand on his chest. He’s thought about this for years and he doesn’t want a bloody dizzy spell to interrupt him. 

“Stay there,” Teddy says. “Let me.” He kneels next to the bed and flattens his hand on James’ abdomen. “You’re beautiful,” he says and he glances up at James’ face as he shifts closer and touches his lips to the tip of James’ cock. 

James’ face crumples with desire and he reaches to twine his fingers in Teddy’s hair. “Yes,” he whispers. “Yes, please, Teddy.” 

Teddy swirls his tongue around the head of James’ cock. The soft skin is warm under his tongue and he tastes the deep musky taste of James. He hums with pleasure and slips his mouth over the head and sucks. 

“Fuck,” gasps James. His hand in Teddy’s hair tightens into a fist. “Do that again, fuck.” 

Teddy works his mouth further down on James’ cock and he sucks hard enough to hollow out his cheeks. The feel of James’ cock heavy on his tongue, the way his stomach muscles flutter under Teddy’s hand, the sounds he makes, all of it are making Teddy harder than he’s ever been in his life. 

“I wish I could touch you,” says James. The thought makes Teddy thrum with want. He wraps his hand around the base of James’ cock and sucks it down until his mouth meets his hand. “Oh god, I’m not…I’m gonna come,” moans James. 

Teddy is aching, but he can wait. He wants this moment to be about James. He wants to watch him come. He’s rubbing his tongue against the underside of James cock, working him in every way he can with his lips and his throat and his hand. He can feel James getting closer. His muscles are tense and he’s making low, rumbling, incomprehensible sounds. The hand at the back of Teddy’s head pulls, holding Teddy in place, urging him to take James deeper. 

“That’s it, yes, ah yes,” James babbles as his body stiffens and Teddy feels his gorgeous cock throb in his mouth and James is coming. Teddy keeps his hand and mouth working James’ cock through every tremor of his orgasm. His hand is slick on James’ cock and he sucks gently as he feels James start to relax, staying with him and taking in every bit of what James has to give. 

Teddy pulls off slowly and presses his forehead into James’ stomach. James’ hand combs through his hair, soothing the place he pulled. 

“Wow,” says James and Teddy can’t help but laugh.

“Glad I met expectations,” says Teddy. He presses his hand against his own aching cock and resigns himself to the fact that his is going to have to get to the loo. 

“More than,” says James. “I feel better than I have since I got here.” 

“Well then, I suppose we’ve found your course of treatment,” Teddy says. He lifts his head and moves so he can kiss James, softly on the mouth. 

“You…” James begins.

“Can wait,” says Teddy. “I think we’ve probably pushed our luck far enough. We’ll have plenty of time for me once you’re home.” 

“I’m holding you to that,” James says. It sounds to Teddy like there’s a little more bravado there than James feels.

“James,” says Teddy, taking his hand again. “There’s no going back. For me, at any rate.” 

“Good,” says James. He does look more relaxed and content than he has since the accident. 

“Trask knows I’m in here,” Teddy says, handing James his potion. “If you haven’t taken this, she’ll have questions about what we were doing.” 

“You’re not my Healer,” says James. 

“I don’t want to be your Healer,” says Teddy. “But I do want you to get some rest and I do want to be there for you, every step of the way.” 

“You keep sucking me like that,” says James, taking the potion from Teddy and knocking it back in one go. “And you can do whatever the hell you want.” 

“Idiot,” Teddy says, pressing a kiss to the side of James’ mouth. 

James says _Teddy_ softly and, before Teddy can answer, James is asleep, a smile playing on his lips.

**********

As soon as James learned to stand without bringing on a vertigo spell, he refused to stay in bed, started refusing to take his potions during the day, and started driving the staff of St. Mungo's completely mad. Teddy was not surprised when Trask had discharge orders drawn up and was ready to send James home with an efficiency not always seen at St. Mungo’s.

The one thing she puts her foot down on is James Apparating or Flooing. So, Harry and Ginny have arrived with their old car to drive James home.

Despite his protestations that he is not James’ Healer, Trask has given Teddy all of James’ discharge instructions, his potions, and his list of appointments for therapy. 

“I’ll go and bring the car round to the front,” says Harry. He jogs off, leaving Ginny and Teddy to walk with James – who has refused the assistance of a wheelchair – to the entrance. 

Despite his bluster that he’s fine, James is walking gingerly, as if he’s doubting the stability of the floor beneath him. Teddy reaches out and takes his elbow and James gives him a grateful look. 

They step out onto the street to wait for Harry. It’s a bright day and the street and sidewalk are busy. After the quiet, assertively calm atmosphere of St. Mungo’s, it’s overstimulating and overwhelming. Teddy feels James’ muscles tense under his hand. He’s about to ask him if he’s all right when Harry pulls up in an old Volvo, just as another car tries to stop in the same place and honks it’s horn. Ginny pulls the door open and gestures James to step inside. James doesn’t move. His hands come up and cover both of his ears and Teddy can see that his breathing is quick and shallow. 

Ginny sees it at the same time as Teddy does and she gently takes his hand away from his right ear. She whispers something in James’ ear as she and Teddy help him into the car. Sandwiched between Ginny and Teddy in the back seat, James’ colour begins to return to normal. 

“S-sorry,” he stammers. “I – it was too much. I didn’t realise. Everything was louder and I couldn’t tell where anything was.” 

Ginny takes his hand and says, “It’s okay, darling.” 

Teddy doesn’t care that Ginny is sitting right there, he takes James’ other hand and squeezes it. “You’ll learn to judge where sounds are coming from, and your brain will get used to how sounds are different. It will take some time.” 

“We’ll get you home, son,” says Harry. He’s driving more slowly and cautiously than Teddy has seen him drive before. 

“My flat,” says James. “I want to go to mine.” 

Teddy sees Ginny frown out of the corner of his eye. She opens her mouth to say something and James must feel it coming, so he says quickly, “I need to get to whatever normal’s going to look like and I can’t do that if I don’t go to my flat. Besides, I don’t think I can take the noise.” 

James doesn’t need to say anything else about that. Harry and Ginny’s house has always, in Teddy’s memory, been the gathering place for all the friends and relations. 

Harry makes a quick lane change to turn toward James’ flat. "Of course," Harry says, looking in the rearview at James.

They spend the rest of the drive in quiet. Teddy doesn’t let go of James’ hand and he can feel Ginny glance at it more than once. When they finally arrive at James’ building and James insists that Teddy can get him settled, she doesn’t argue and Teddy makes a note to talk to her and Harry soon. 

The air in James’ flat is still and stale. Teddy opens a window and cool, fresh air rushes in. James is standing in the entry, looking around. He cocks his head, a bit like a puppy, and Teddy feels a wave of protective fondness. 

“Sounds different even when there’s no noise,” says James. “And if you launch into an explanation about canals and utricles and hair cells, I’ll toss you out.” 

“I would never,” says Teddy. He walks over to James and folds him into his arms, exactly as he’s been wanting to do for days, weeks, years. He presses his cheek against James’, near his right ear and says, “Welcome home.” 

“I don’t want to talk about it tonight,” says James. “I know I can’t play Quidditch. I know this is dreadful and all, but I can start thinking about that tomorrow. I’ll be fine on the other side, I know I will, and for now, I want to pretend I’m fine now.” 

“Fair enough,” says Teddy. “You must be exhausted.” 

“I do want to go to bed,” James says. He pulls back enough to look into Teddy’s face. Teddy is mesmerised by the flecks of gold and green in James’ hazel eyes. “And I owe you one.” 

**Four Months Later**

The alarm goes off. James’ alarm, that is. Teddy’s isn’t set for another thirty minutes. 

Teddy rolls over to look at James. He’s burrowed down under the blankets, his head pressed into the pillow, with his right ear firmly ensconced in the soft down. His hair is so tousled that it looks as if there’s a dark red hedgehog on the pillow next to Teddy. 

“Prat,” says Teddy. “You do that on purpose.” Teddy reaches out to ruffle the hair even more and a wave of affection hits him with a physical force. He leans over and presses his lips to the tiny bit of exposed skin he can find, right behind James’ left ear. 

He slides his hand under the blankets, over James’ soft skin, down to rest in the small of his back. In the last few months, Teddy has hardly slept at his own place. Every time he thinks he should go home, something James says or does pulls him back in. He’s been constantly amazed at the different ways he’s come to know James, when he thought he already knew him so well. He’s more determined than Teddy could have imagined. He’s also more practical – accepting the changes in his life with grace that Teddy knows he couldn’t muster, and sometimes using them to his advantage – like not hearing alarm clocks. He’s always game to get into bed, and he’s always a royal pain in the arse to get out of bed. 

Teddy leans over and nuzzles behind his ear again. He kisses the tiny tattoo there, a Snitch to commemorate his career as a Seeker. That’s new – James had said his left ear might as well be good for something, and hid this little reminder there. Teddy nips at the curve of James’ ear with his teeth. He might not be able to hear out of it, but it’s as sensitive as the other.

“Wake up,” says Teddy. His body is pressed against James’ soft, pliable, warm form. “First day of the new job.” 

James spent three months in intensive therapy, learning to manage the vertigo and the loss of depth perception. He’s talked to mind Healers and he’s landed a new job, at the Department of Magical Games and Sports, that he says he’s actually excited to start. Nothing will replace flying for him, but he says he’s determined to fly again and, if anyone can do it, he can. 

James makes a soft sound and pushes back against Teddy. Teddy rolls his hips and makes sure James can feel how hard being this close to James makes him. “Well, good morning,” James murmurs sleepily. 

“Mm,” sighs Teddy, rolling on top of James. They fit together perfectly, Teddy’s chest against James’ broad back, his face nuzzling into James’ neck, and his cock sliding deliciously against James’ arse. 

“I set my alarm fifteen minutes early,” says James, arching his back so Teddy’s cock slides into the cleft of his arse.

“Fuck, you’re amazing,” says Teddy. He presses open-mouthed kisses to James’ neck and shoulders and he rocks his hips, gasping at the feel of James’ arse around his cock. “Come here,” he says, rolling off James and over onto his side, bringing James with him, so he’s spooning him. This way, James can move harder against him and Teddy reaches around to touch James. “Lovely,” he says, finding James’ cock hard and straining. 

James throws his leg over Teddy’s thighs, opening himself to Teddy and pressing so close that Teddy almost can’t tell where one of them ends and the other begins. The shift in position lets Teddy thrust between James’ thighs so far he can feel his cock nudging James’ balls. It’s slick and hot and so good that Teddy knows he’s going to come soon. “Fuck you like this, tonight, next time, gonna fuck you like this,” he babbles, starting to lose himself. 

James is groaning and gasping his name and rocking hard and fast between Teddy’s body and his hand. “Yeah, anything, love how you feel,” James says. 

Teddy jerks against James’ body and he comes with the image of James precisely like this, but with Teddy’s cock deep inside him as he writhes against Teddy’s body. “James, god,” he moans, squeezing James’ cock. He wants to feel James come, he wants them to come together. “Come,” he says as the last of his orgasm shudders through him. He’s rewarded by James shouting his name and coming hard all over Teddy’s hand, his whole body bowing. Teddy holds him tight, wanting to stay this close. 

He can feel his body and James’ body relax together, the soft warm bed and the languid satiation calling him. His eyes start to close until he hears James’ breath go deep and even. 

“Here, don’t go back to sleep,” he says, shaking James gently. 

James sighs and says, “I suppose it wouldn’t do to be late on my first day.” 

“I’ll go and make you breakfast,” Teddy says. “You need a shower – I’ve made a mess of you.” James laughs and starts to sit up. “And James?” Teddy says. “You’ll be brilliant.”

James flashes him a cocky grin, that Teddy knows is partly for James’ own benefit, as he eases himself carefully out of the bed. “And you’ll be here when I get home?” 

“Always,” says Teddy, and he realises that, over the past few months, _home_ has become wherever James is. He’ll tell him that another time, he thinks. A new job is enough to be getting on with for one day.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! You can show your appreciation for the author in a comment here or on [livejournal](https://hp-nextgen-fest.livejournal.com/117512.html).


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